Independence Day
is two days away, everyone! By now you guys have seen your share of red, white,
and blue all around: in the grocery store, on the streets, and in the recipes
floating around online. I want to throw my own recipe into the mix, which is
absolutelydelectable and irresistible. I was looking at recipes
and just didn’t find something that I thought would fit my mission of
tasty-yet-healthy. Until, well, I thought of this.
Seriously, I had
to walk out of the room to stop myself from eating more. I licked my plate
clean. I thought about it for days on end.
So what is this
amazing, sweet, and bright treat I speak of?
Introducing: 4th
of July Cake.
Light angel food
cake is adorned with ambrosial lemon-almond whipped cream and fresh, ripe,
bursting-with-flavor berries. This is seriously the best dessert I have had in
along time, and that includes the
ice cream I had the other day (gasp! I know!!) The cake itself is sweet and
moist, and so gorgeous. Then the cream adds a slight floral nuttiness and
depth, and the fruit brightens it up. Blueberries are so delicate and have a
juicy, refreshing quality that I adore. Raspberries contribute a slightly tart,
but still sweet element that rounds out the entire dish.
It looks gorgeous,
tastes divine, and is a complete show-stopper. If you bring this anywhere or
serve it to your guests, they will be stunned! As my dad said, “This is one of
those desserts where I have to force myself not to get a second serving”
(little did he know, however, that he could easily have had another and not
broken his calorie bank!)
Angel Cake with Lemon-Almond Cream and Fresh
Berries
Serves 8 Serving Size: 2 slices cake, 1/4c.
cream, 1/2c. berries Calories/Serving: 148
Ingredients:
- 12 large egg
whites - 2 and 1/4c.
splenda (or other no-cal sweetener), divided - 1c. cake flour
(or all purpose, but cake flour does make it lighter!) - 1 and 1/2
tsp cream of tartar - 1tbl water
- 1/2tsp
vanilla extract - 1/4tsp salt
- 2c.
light/free whipped topping (such as cool whip), thawed - 1/4tsp
almond extract - The zest of
one large lemon - 2c. fresh raspberries
- 2c. fresh
blueberries
Instructions:
- Allow the egg whites to come to room
temperature in a large, clean bowl (takes at least 30 minutes). - Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. - Add 1 and 1/4c. of the sweetener into
a food processor. Now, I know this sounds strange, but you are going to pulse
the sugar a few times. This makes it finer, and gives the cake a lighter
texture. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. It really does make a difference! - Either add the flour to the food
processor and pulse a few times to combine, or sift the flour and the sugar
twice so it is nice and fine. - Add the cream of tartar, water,
vanilla extract, and salt to the egg whites. Beat on high with an electric
mixer (hand-held or other) until it becomes very foamy. Slowly add in the
remaining 1c of sweetener (that you didn’t blend in the food processor). - Continue to beat the eggs until medium
(between soft and stiff) peaks form. At this point, switch to a spatula and
gently, gently fold in the flour mixture, 1/4c. at a time. Take this
nice and slow, and incorporate the entire mixture. - Gently spoon the batter into two 8×8
square UNGREASED baking pans. Lightly run a knife through the batter to
get rid of bubbles (I just did three lines each way) and place in the oven for
20-30 minutes. You will know they are done when the cake springs back when
lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (but
I personally like the touch method more). - As soon as they are out of the oven,
turn them upside-down on a heat-safe surface. Don’t try to take the cakes out:
let them cool for 30 minutes (trust me, I know this is hard– but walk away!) - After 30 minutes have passed, the cake
will have receded slightly from the edges of the pan. My first cake separated
from the pan by itself; the second one needed to be convinced to leave. Just
run a thin spatula on the bottom, very gently, and turn the pan upside-down.Very Important Note: Angel food cake is often
said to taste “eggy,” and that is because many bakers do not let it
cool for long enough. Wait at least 3 hours before you frost or slice into this
cake.
- To make the cream, combine the whipped
topping, almond extract, and lemon zest in a medium bowl until thoroughly
combined. - To assemble the cake, cut each “loaf”
into 8 slices. Put two slices on each plate, and top with 1/4c. of whipped
cream, 1/4c. blueberries, and 1/4c. raspberries. Serve, and watch people drool
from the moment they see it!
